Use your feet to Think

    With age racing and a sedentary life style playing truant, without restorative adaptations, we progressively erode physical strength. This erosion, holds consequences in the long term restricting mobility and paving way for life styled induced physiological degeneration.

     For better  mobility to enhance our quality of life and not unintentionally cause self harm through sedentary existence, challenge yourself with a these progressively simple exercise adaptations. 

    You  could do this around your work desk, kitchen walls, on a stationary car or even when under the shower - but beware, don't slip down that well polished marble gleam and land yourself uninvited on a physicians lap when trying to work around another health challenge.

    Most are familiar with isometrics -  Building strength and some muscle by loading a muscle without altering its length. 

    The wall sit isometric is used to test and develop lower body strength, primarily for your quadriceps, but in the process, loads other parts of your leg like hamstrings, glutes, calves and  the core. 

    When executed by sitting against a wall using both feet for not more than 30 seconds, if your sedentary existence is worrying enough for you to give up before 30 seconds is done, your body will 'talk' to you about it. Age and experience not withstanding, it would do you a world of good to pay heed to sound advice from your legs - using your feet to think, so to speak !!  

If no, and you can successfully execute this movement with little difficulty or ease, no reason to celebrate yet, move on to the next level...

So, If you have crossed the 30 second mark rather comfortably, take it to the next level and throw in that check for muscle balance while building strength using these variations of bilateral & unilateral holds for 30 sec. 

How ?

That is simple ....when sitting on that imaginary chair against the wall, lift one leg, balancing your body weight on the other. In all probability,  you will find the degree of the task go from 'relatively easy' to 'suddenly challenging'. If not, be proud of your lower kinetic chain strength. Hold on for 30 seconds, if you can, you are graded 'GOOD'

Does the progressive challenge on isometrics end here with a pat on your back and the word 'good' ?

Oh no...these are just the initial gradations of difficulty. One can increase the degree of challenging yourself by loading your single leg hold (unilateral) or two leg hold (bilateral) with any weight like a kettlebell, a dumbbell, a barbell plate or even your grocery bag. 

For variations, you can throw in an exercise band around your shin bone or above your knees or both, pushing outwards, forcing an increase in intensity and effectiveness. It need not be an exercise band, a simple towel or a soft rope should work, but a band enhances dynamic resistance. 

The additional effort needed to push your leg outward will engage your abductors, increase glute activation through load and stability and push your core to increase engagement to keep balance. 

One can do bilateral (both legs) or unilateral (single leg) progressions. 

To check balance and constantly  challenge small movements, dynamic isometrics can be attempted with an inverted half crescent ball or a bosu ball. 

So much variety and strength benefit, all stitched into one simple movement. 

Keep in mind, isometrics build strength and not muscle. But this foundation strength holds immense restorative benefits. After 30 years of age, we lose 3 - 8% muscle per decade. After 60, it is 1% of your body weight per year. This can be offset to delay age related conditions related to mobility, coordination and balance. 

Thus, what are u waiting for ? Find a wall and check your lower limb strength quotient !

EXERCISE : A COGENT ARMOUR AGAINST COVID ?

EXERCISE AND IMMUNE RESPONSE

" They knew so little, but did so much; we know so much, yet do we do enough ? "

This generational paradox best epitomizes the arena of exercise induced immunology. With improved physiological understanding of how our body responds to exercise, a positive association defines exercise and changes in the body's immune response. A negative expression in exercise accrued outcomes was noted only with extremely intensive regimes.

With this know, the moot quip - can an exercise regime alleviate or mitigate COVID specific symptoms ?

In the wake of the pandemic, the World Health Organisation, laid out activity regimes for various age groups in their Be Active campaign to decrease susceptibility to COVID-19.

Regular moderate exercise increase the production of immune response molecules like Interleukin-1, Interferons, Natural killer cells and an endogenous process elevates body levels of a gaseous super molecule - NITRIC OXIDE.

Nitric Oxide was used to treat the SARS in 2003, also inhibits the replication cycle of SARS CoV2 virus. While the mechanism itself is not completely comprehended, Nitric Oxide's anti viral potential is adequately acknowledged. Nitric Oxide released from S-Nitroso-N-Acetylpencillanine (SNAP) possesses a distinct anti viral effect. Though these studies are in vivo, there is enough inertia in the scientific environment to toy with the possibility of augmenting NO production in the body to relieve symptomatic severity of COVID-19. Having stated this, NO bears both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory actions.

Can we enhance levels of Nitric Oxide in the body ?

Nitric Oxide is a time sensitive molecule with a half life of a millisecond and needs constant production in the body. Vitamin D3 spurs NO production as much as poor sleep, mouth washes and antacids shut it down.

The most common natural means of enhancing levels of Nitric Oxide in the body are diet and exercise.

DIETARY SOURCES

Dark chocolate and Vegetables rich in nitrates like Spinach, Radish , Beetroot, Turnips, the algae Spirulina are direct sources ; foods rich in L-Arginine like flax seeds and walnuts; L-Citrulline from watermelon and cucumber; Glutathione from spinach and ladies finger are precursors. Fortification with citrus fruit and omega 3 from cocoa and walnuts protect NO from oxidation and increase bio availability, polyphones like punicalagin found in pomegranates prevent NO from oxidative stress, Garlic activates enzymatic action in the body to produce the molecule.

EXERCISE INDUCED ENHANCEMENT

Physical activity enhances endothelial cell functioning within which Nitric Oxide is produced.

Two distinctive disciplines and their role in increasing Nitric Oxide expression in the body are being elucidated.

1. Cardiovascular Exercise Regimes

(a) Moderate intensity aerobic exercises, for 30 minutes, five days a week, which adheres to the WHO recommended minimum exercise protocol for adults, performed at 50 - 60 % of VO2 Max, enhanced nitric oxide availability through improved endothelium vasodilation. This effort manipulates the oxidative pathway as the primary energy system.

(b) High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) workouts alternate short periods of intense anaerobic workouts viz 90-100% of VO2 Max with low intensity recovery bouts spread over a duration of 30 - 45 minutes. HIIT exerts the phosphagen and fast glycolysis energy pathways as primary energy systems. 

                 

HIIT circuits exhibited far more Nitric Oxide density than moderate intensity aerobic exercise. However, effectuating HIIT more than two or three times a week induces high degrees of avoidable oxidative stress and can predispose a trainee to injury. On the flip side, HIIT rolled back more risk markers of metabolic syndrome than other forms of aerobic activity.

The grey zone appears in the middle where exercise performed at intensities of 75% of VO2max, was analogous with an increase in oxidative stress accompanied by a marginal dip in blood flow.

2. Yoga - Bhramari Pranayama or Bee Breathing

Nasal breathing and humming substantially elevate Nitric Oxide volumes in the system. Bhramari Pranayama which owes its name to the humming sound of the large capenter bee, extends these benefits to stimulating the pineal and pituitary glands, lowering blood pressure and inducing deep sleep, improving cardiac health, reduction of cerebral tension and soothing nerves. Throwing in a detailed visual context is Chitra Vinod (@yogichitram), a Ayush certified, experienced Yoga instructor, in her maiden YouTube upload. 

The genome of COVID-19 mirrors the Corona Virus (SARS CoV) in many ways. This merely implies the strong possibility of Nitric Oxide in decreasing susceptibility and relieve symptomatic severity of COVID-19. Numerous studies have substantiated this hypothesis. Surely, this is good enough a reason for the sedentary to get active and the active to tweak their regimes to derive optimized health outcomes.

                                                                    -Ravi

deMystyfing the 'Runners High'

Ever wondered why you felt a strange elated sense of euphoria on completing a marathon ? 

This elated sense of ecstasy was, for a considerable period, attributed to a sense of accomplishment. After all, burning feet wrapped rubber over paths seldom traversed is indeed a personal milestone. 

Physical activities are known to stimulate the release of a cocktail of mood enhancing neurotransmitters, such as endorphins,dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin.

For runners, an explosion of endorphins - a hormone produced and stored in the pituitary gland was credited for this sense of euphoria.

So...what are endorphins ?

 ENDORPHIN = ENDOGENEOS (from within the body) + MORPHINE (Opioid pain reliever)

A good example on the effect of endorphins is reflected below : 

The hormone interacted with receptors in the brain and mitigated perception of pain and triggered a positive feel.  

Or so, it was believed. A similar apotheosis in distance runners came to be known as 'runners high'. 

 'HIGH'  ?.....as in intoxication, tipsy, stoned or inebriated !! Like after a drag of marijuana... ?

Yes.....Move over endorphins, make room for your own body produced shot of cannabis. Yes...our body does produce its own form of the weed -  Endocannabinoids. One of the most protean and extensive signalling molecules in the body.

New research coming out of Europe has identified a lipid soluble endocannabinoid called anandamide  that traverses through the blood-brain barrier to trigger this elated sense of ecstasy in distance runners which came to be known as 'the runners high'.

Running increases the concentration of anandamide molecules which bind to receptor cells in the brain invoking this stoned feel.  

Well....so if you are waiting on your drag of self synthesized cannabis.....  

Don those sneakers, lace up and hit the track for that overdose of joy which this form of aerobic activity renders.......unhindered !!